Color of amethyst geodes is very similar to the color of a Malbec wine

 Amazing surprise checking in at the Intercontinental hotel in Mexico City by Reforma (Campos Eliseos). My breath was taken away when I saw this beautiful 1.5 m specimen, a gorgeous amethyst geode from Minas Geraes, Brazil in the lobby. It seems to me that they were waiting for my arrival. I immediately took my camera and captured several pictures, which I believe some came up good, I hope you enjoy my selections. To celebrate, nothing better than an amethyst colored Malbec wine from Mendoza, Argentina 2010 crop.

What's new in the mineral world?

Tom's online report 37 (Spring 2014)

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Rob Lavinsky’s The Arkenstone site (irocks.com) has undergone a complete redesign, and its new incarnation, like the old one, has very “deep” galleries loaded with fine specimens, fine Joe Budd photos of same, and much documentary information. Among Rob’s post-Tucson updates on the new site is a section which offers specimens from the Herb Obodda collection—heavy on old European classics and on more recent things from Herb’s former stomping........  

Keynote Speaker at the Society of Women in the Petroleum Industry Houston

What a privilege to speak at the SPWP on February 13, 2014 early in the morning with a nice breakfast consisting of French toast, bacon, coffee and orange juice. Almost 70 women of the Petroleum Industry in Houston from petroleum engineers Halliburton to owners of successful companies supplying the industry. and female NOV colleagues, one of them is the Executive VP for the SPWP. 

My presentation was about Geology Applied to the Oil & Gas Sector. Feedback has been good, and I look forward to a future part II meeting. There was just one Geologist in the audience, and therefore I decided to put some slides together to give them a crash course in Geology from the rock cycle to tectonic plates and Earth's time table. I had been their keynote speaker before: 1995. Time flies (a friend of mine says, he is a pilot). I truly enjoyed it. The picture is a nice gift now being shoed off in my office. Happy Valentine Day!